August in England is a strange affair(事情，事件). Offices are half-empty but the cities themselves are not. Parks are strewn(撒满，布满) with the working-age, lazing in the sun; bars fill from the early afternoon. On a warm Friday, anyone hoping for a dip at Canary Wharf(金丝雀码头，伦敦金融区)’s new outdoor pool is out of luck(不走运，没运气). Every session is rammed(挤满，塞满) with working-age adults enjoying Britain’s new Mediterranean climate. The Great British Bunk Off has begun.
八月的英格兰是一桩怪事。办公室半空，但城市本身并不空。公园里到处是正值工作年龄的人，懒洋洋地晒着太阳；酒吧从午后不久就坐满了人。在一个温暖的周五，任何想去金丝雀码头新露天泳池泡一泡的人都会失望。每一场都挤满了享受英国新地中海气候的适龄劳动者。“英国大翘班”开始了。
Britain does not shut down over summer. There is no equivalent(对应物，等同物) of the grandes vacances(法国大假期，夏季长假) in France during the height of summer or Norway’s Fellesferie(挪威共同假期) when the entire country disappears for most of July. The closest Britain comes is “holibobs(假期（英式俚语）)”—a week or two in Europe or Cornwall. Yet for the rest of August, while their peers in France and Germany are away from their desks, Britain’s holibourgeoisie(假日资产阶级（生造词）) are stuck in purgatory(炼狱，受苦之地), neither truly at work nor at rest. All that results is an epidemic(流行病，泛滥) of skiving(偷懒，逃工) and shirking(逃避责任，偷懒).
英国在夏天并不会停摆。法国盛夏有“大假期”，挪威有“共同假期”——整个国家在七月大部分时间消失，英国都没有对应物。英国最接近的是“holibobs”——去欧洲或康沃尔待一两周。然而在八月剩下的日子里，当法国和德国的同行们离开办公桌时，英国的“假日资产阶级”却困在炼狱中，既非真正在工作，也非真正在休息。这一切导致的结果是逃工和偷懒的流行病。
It is a British malaise(不适，萎靡不振). Britons are inveterate(根深蒂固的，积习难改的) liars when it comes to(当谈到，在……方面) how much they work. A decade ago statisticians found that a big chunk of(很大一部分) Britain’s hourly productivity gap with France was due to Britons vastly overstating(夸大，言过其实) how many hours they did. Heat makes them only more deceitful(欺骗的，不诚实的). During summer, about half of British workers confess they clock off(打卡下班) early or take extended(延长的，扩展的) lunch breaks, according to a survey by Dayforce(Dayforce，人力资源软件公司), an hr-software firm.
这是英国人的一种通病。英国人在自己工作多少这件事上是积习难改的骗子。十年前，统计学家发现，英国与法国每小时生产率差距的很大一部分，是因为英国人严重夸大了自己的工作时间。炎热只会让他们更加不诚实。据人力资源软件公司Dayforce的一项调查，在夏季，大约一半的英国工人承认他们会提前下班或延长午休时间。
We’re not all going on a summer holiday
我们不是都去度暑假